Turn 10 Discusses the next Forza Motorsport

Forza Motorsport 7 launched in October of 2017 and since then has ushered in the era of the Xbox One X and received nearly 2 years of continuous support from Turn 10. But with an extra year of development, and powerful new hardware on the horizon, Turn 10 is looking to the future of the series. In their Q&A on July 1st, Turn 10 detailed how they are approaching next-generation and how they want to improve the long running series.

First up is how they approach the development and re-creation of tracks within the series. Creative Director Chris Esaki spoke on this topic which included both real-life and fantasy tracks. According to Esaki, there is an entirely new process of building tracks using a revamped system that will debut in the next Forza Motorsport game. This will allow the team to deliver new tracks with much more regularity than before, and according to Esaki will focus on “truly authentic motorsport experiences.”

Esaki also commented on the fantasy tracks that tend to be fan favorites. These will be dubbed part of the “Forza Lore Series” going forward and will crossover with the Horizon series as well. He mentioned the classic Fujimi Kaido drift circuit in the Q&A noting “We hear you guys loud and clear; we’re working on a lot of stuff right now.”

We are big racing fans here at SG and one of the core areas we want to see Forza Motorsport progress in is updates to the simulation aspects. While once considered the pinnacle, the last few iterations have slowed in their advancements which became noticeable over time. Fortunately, it seems as though Turn 10 is well ahead of us.

A number of improvements are being made to the core Forza Motorsport physics calculations including drafting, which is being developed by a new “racing fundamentals team” within Turn 10 who are building the A.I. and physics. Drafting, while fairly realistic today said Esaki, needs to have more impact on the race to truly allow players the ability to race as they would in real life. In addition to drafting, they are also working on a new tire modeling and wear system along with many suspension and handling updates.

When you look at the time, investment, and focus of Turn 10, it’s clear they are focused on making the next installment of Forza Motorsport the premier racing title on the market. Further along those lines, Art Director Scott Lee said his team is using “some real bleeding edge technical things ripped from the movie industry to bring the thrill of real-life racing to the game”. Meanwhile, Creative Director Dan Greenawalt has spoken repeatedly about putting players at the center of their design and being fundamental to the development process.

We love what we’re hearing from Turn 10 and there’s little doubt the next Forza Motorsport will be a showcase title for Scarlett next year. We simply wish they had the ability to speed up time so we could play it sooner.

If you’d like to watch the full Forza monthly update, you can find it below!